February 5, 2009

A Month of Love and Lust

True love begins with algebra
Those casual actors x and y,
Nonentities whose magic role
Is to turn nothing into all.
To be and not to be: to mate:
The links are chance, the chain is fate.

Michael Hamburger
from The Mathematics of Love

Her light shining in the darkness made everything tremble
The hills began dancing like rams.
"Oh Lord," I thought, "Our secrets will be discovered,"
But she reached back at once with her powerful hands
And covered us both with her long black hair,
And once again it was night.

Judah al-Haziri
(13th century Hebrew poet)

As the light comes through
And the night is turning into day
I want to know I'll die before you
I want to know I'll die before
We aren't lovers anymore